Stories from Friday, April 23, 2021

When South Putnam walked off the court at Southmont in February of 2020, few knew it would be the last time most of the girls on the floor would play in a contest for the next six months of the year as COVID-19 played out in front of everyone. One of the few people that still found game time during the spring and summer was Chloe Custis, who got the chance to play travel ball and keep sharp, working on different facets of her game that would be needed ahead of the 2020-21 season...

It was in the middle of basketball season when Judson University offered Cloverdale senior Chase Ashcraft a chance to join a young and growing track and field program. Ashcraft accepted and made it official recently after signing on to join the Chicagoland-based NAIA school starting in the fall of the 2021-22 school year...

Hailey is a senior at Cloverdale and participates in one sport, softball. ——— Banner Graphic: How important are sports to you, and what have you learned from them? Hailey Gardner: “Sports are pretty important to me. I try my very best each game and practice to be there for my teammates and to do my best because I love to watch my team succeed. ...

Granville, Ohio — DePauw pitcher Cami Henry tossed the first perfect game in program history as the Tigers blanked Denison, 9-0, in game two of their North Coast Athletic Conference West Division doubleheader at Denison. That followed a 7-1 victory in the opener as seventh-ranked DePauw improved to 23-2 overall and 6-0 in NCAC divisional play. Denison dropped to 6-15 overall and 3-3 in NCAC play...

B Gary Hazlett For the Banner Graphic CLOVERDALE — The Cloverdale Clover young softball team hosted a tough and talented Northview team on Thursday night and kept the game close for a while, but an eight-run fifth inning by the Knights led to a 14-3, five-inning victory by the visitors in a West Central Conference matchup. The teams were playing after having a couple days in a row that weather kept the teams off the field...

Phyllis Smelser Smith was born in Connersville on Sept. 9, 1924. She was the daughter of Dr. H.W. Smelser and Frances Shera Smelser. Phyllis was a graduate of Connersville High School. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts from Earlham College in 1946. She also earned a teaching degree from Indiana State University and her Master of Teaching from DePauw University in 1973...